Testing New Drugs for SSc:
A Single Group, Open Label,
Pilot Clinical Trial of
Nilotinib (Tasignaâ&#x201E;˘)
Second generation tyrosine kinase
inhibitor (TKI) drugs aim to be more
efficacious with less side effects. A recent
pilot study of one such TKI called nilotinib
(Tasignaâ&#x201E;˘) was completed by 7 patients
with diffuse cutaneous (dc) systemic
sclerosis (SSc) for less than 3 years.
The twice daily 400 mg oral dose
of nilotinib was tolerated by the majority
of patients in the study. Tolerability
was limited primarily by mildly prolonged
QTc, which is a known side effect of
nilotinib and an exclusion criterion for
continuation in this study.
Modified Rodnan Skin Score (MRSS)
improved significantly with 6 months of
treatment in this very early and active
group of patients.
Further testing in randomized
placebo controlled trials will ultimately
be necessary to determine whether the
benefits seen were truly related to the
medication tested.
Full Details on HSS.edu